New Westminster City Councillor recognized as one of Canada’s Open City Champions

Posted On:

May 11, 2018

New Westminster, BC – New Westminster City Councillor Bill Harper has been recognized with an Open City Champion Award by Public Sector Digest (PSD). Highlighting International Open Government Week, the Open City Champion Awards shine a spotlight on the importance of committing to more open, transparent and accountable local government. Last year, Public Sector Digest ranked the City of New Westminster 6th out Canada’s 20 most open cities and 1st amongst Canadian cities in the 50,000 to 100,000 population category.

“Working together, we’ve made solid progress transforming New Westminster into a leader in open government through our efforts to expand our open data offerings and innovate with partners on new ways to use data for the benefit of communities. Robust open data platforms and strategies that engage communities and inspire citizens to get involved are important components in our efforts to find new and better ways to deliver services,” said Councillor Harper. “While my name may be the one on the award, this recognition is shared by many – by my fellow council members, city staff and the community members who have worked with us to further our Intelligent City vision for the past six years”.

In 2017, Public Sector Digest received dozens of nominations from across the country for the Open City Champion Awards in each of three categories: Community Leader, City Administrative Leader and City Council Leader. Nominees were judged by a panel of experts on several criteria including their contribution to the development, improvement and/or continuous support of their community’s open data initiative.

“We’re very proud to see Bill’s many contributions to our Intelligent City and open data efforts recognized at the national level,” said Mayor Jonathan Coté. “He has truly been a champion on council of our Intelligent City initiative and our community is making great strides as a result of his leadership on this front.”